Awning deployment devices such as those that can be attached to store fronts, trailers, mobile homes, etc. have used a variety of mechanical configurations to store, position, and support awning canopies. They include various devices to unroll the awning canopy from a roller bar as well as mechanical means of locking the canopy in position so that it is secured is its unfurled state. U.S. Pat. No. 3,870,096 discloses such a device which includes an eccentric brake inside an awning roller to brake the rotational movement of the roller. U.S. Pat. No. 4,524,791 similarly shows a roller with an internal brake member, the brake member being in engagement with an eccentric also positioned inside the roller. The brake systems in these references, however, have at least two drawbacks. The first is that the mechanisms are wholly internal to the roller. Maintenance, as well as repair, is made difficult because the assembly must be disassembled in order to get to the braking mechanism. Second, since the braking action relies upon friction, the brakes may slip or fail to hold under certain load condition. Other prior art devices brake against the shaft rather than a drum, as in U.S. Pat. No. 3,021,090, where an eccentric brake cooperates with a shaft to provide a uni-directional braking system. Once again, however, this mechanism is disposed inside the awning roller and as before utilizes friction to engage the shaft, thus permitting slippage to occur. A third drawback to the shaft braking device is that the mechanism is uni-directional and cannot be repositioned to change the direction of motion against which the brake is operable.